


Girl’s Night

by Allie0963



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Comfort, Coming Out, Gen, Lesbian Emily Prentiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:42:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26731582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Allie0963/pseuds/Allie0963
Summary: Emily comes out to JJ and Garcia after their failed attempt to set her up with a guy (or really, multiple guys, all of which she refused).
Relationships: Jennifer "JJ" Jareau & Emily Prentiss
Comments: 3
Kudos: 62





	Girl’s Night

**Author's Note:**

> Set in season 5  
> Word Count: 1984

“Ooh, what about that one?” A devilish smile crossed Garcia’s face as she motioned to a guy sitting at the bar. He was slowly sipping his beer, engaged in a friendly conversation with the bartender. 

Emily shrugged. “I don’t know. Seriously guys, just lay off it.”

JJ shoved Emily’s shoulder playfully. “Oh, come on, Emily, how long has it been since you’ve been on a date or…” she paused, smirking at her friend. “Gotten laid?”

Emily choked on her drink, blaming the alcohol that had been consumed for JJ’s provocative question. “Jayje!”

The blonde rolled her eyes. “Tell me,” she demanded. 

“Uhm, a few months, maybe, I’m not really sure. It’s been a long year.” 

“I can see why,” gawked Garcia. “Seriously, Em, you can’t find  _ one _ guy that meets your standards? Like the first one, I guess, he’d have to be your type, but that one,” she glanced back over at the guy at the bar. “No woman in her right mind would turn him down.” 

“Yeah, Pen, but he could be  _ taken _ ,” Emily argued weakly, feeling a slight blush creep onto her cheeks. “He’s just not my type,” she paused, swirling her drink around. “And neither were the other four.” 

“Em-i-ly,” complained JJ, placing a fake pout on her face. “What is your type then? You never talk about your personal life with us.”

“Yeah,” scoffed Emily. “Cause it’s my  _ personal  _ life.” 

“But we’re friends,” JJ stated, crossing her arms defensively. “Besides, it’s not like I’d go tell Morgan or Reid.” 

“I can’t guarantee  _ my _ secrecy,” Garcia added. Emily shot her a sideways glance. 

“Exactly.”

“Pen! You’re not helping,” exclaimed JJ. “Tell us, Em, who  _ is  _ your type?”

Emily didn’t say anything. Instead, she just glanced down at her hands, examining her short fingernails and picked nail-beds, trying to think of the right thing to say. 

“Okay,” JJ started, figuring getting some confession from Emily was going to take some coaxing. “I have some pretty high standards compared to Pen-”

Garcia put her hands up defensively. “Hey!” 

“But at least two of them were definitely hot.” 

“Um, no,” Emily scoffed before she could stop herself, glaring at her two blonde friends. “They most definitely were not.” 

“Alright,” Pen drawled, pausing specifically because she knew Emily hated her ‘genius’ ideas mostly because they involved embarrassing Emily. “I picked out five reasonable options, all of which you turned down, so if we’re going to play that game, you pick.  _ You _ tell  _ me _ who you think is hot.” 

“Yeah,” agreed JJ, laying her hand gently on Emily’s shoulder, as if to tell her  _ we’re your friends, it’s okay _ . “There’s a whole bar of guys, there’s got to be at least  _ one _ .” 

Emily swallowed heavily, feeling her stomach spin a little. She hadn’t really drank that much, but she figured it was just the nerves. What she was nervous about, she really had no idea. Well, that was a lie. Every time the discussion of  _ men _ arose (which happened a lot, seeing as it was Garcia’s favorite activity to try and get Emily a boyfriend), Emily’s mind started an internal debate, battling over whether or not she should just spit out the truth: she was 100% attracted to the  _ opposite _ of men. 

“O- okay,” Emily stammered, trying to make it seem like she wasn’t as nervous as she really was, although she was sure she was doing a horrible job. Pen might not pick up on the way she kept nervously picking her fingernails or swirling her drink every time she looked down like a nervous tick, but JJ certainly could. She turned her head, glancing around at the guys playing darts, the group of presumably single women gossiping across the bar, the gangle of couples, some of which included a few of the guys Garcia had previously suggested. “Just to be clear,” she said. “Whoever I pick doesn’t have to be single, right? It just has to be someone who I find… attractive.” 

“I guess so. We just want to know who you like, Em.” JJ offered her an encouraging smile.

“Yeah,” agreed Garcia, nodding her head vigorously, causing her curly blonde hair to swing around her bright face. “You can’t be the oh-so-mysterious-Emily-Prentiss forever, can you?”

“I mean, I  _ could _ .” 

“No,” objected JJ. “You cannot. Tonight, you are picking  _ at least  _ one person. He doesn’t even have to be available, Em.” 

Emily put her hands up, as if saying  _ I surrender _ . “Alright, alright, give me a second.” She turned her head again, looking closer at some of the people in the bar. Her eyes wandered back towards one of the guys Garcia had pointed out before, except it wasn’t exactly the guy, it happened to be the blonde clinging to his arm, her hair loosely falling down her back. Emily’s eyes must have lingered a second too long because JJ turned, following her line of sight. 

“See someone?” she teased. Obviously, JJ wouldn’t be able to tell exactly because the other woman was standing in a large group that included the guy who Emily had immediately rejected. 

“I guess so,” Emily slowly admitted. They didn’t have to be single, Emily reminded herself, she was just giving Pen and JJ an idea of who she liked. Plus, it was probably better if they were taken, because Emily was sure if she pointed out someone who was by themselves, Penelope would make it her life’s purpose to set Emily up. “That one.” She vaguely motioned in the woman’s direction, making it clear that she could only be talking of one of two people. 

“But that’s the first guy I tried,” Garcia started, narrowing her eyes at Emily. JJ hadn’t made any visible reaction, although she could tell that if she waited long enough to say something, the younger woman would figure it out eventually. 

“No,” Emily sighed pointedly. “The  _ other  _ one.” 

Garcia rolled her eyes. “But there isn’t-” the epiphany seemingly came to her out of nowhere as she glanced between Emily and the woman across the bar. “Oh.” 

Emily looked away from Garcia and towards JJ, who shifted at her side. She decided it was a good thing that her face was almost emotionless. At least she hadn’t reacted negatively, if she even understood it at all. 

The brunette agent looked away from her friends, back towards her half-finished drink, breathing shakily. Her legs felt somewhat like they had when she asked a girl out for the first time, when she was seventeen: like jello, to explain it simply. In other words, they felt like they were going to give out on her any second. Her head shot up when she felt a hand come down softly on top of hers. 

“Emily,” JJ whispered softly, taking her hand and holding it tightly. She was barely audible over the chatter of the bar. “Why didn’t you just tell us? Did you think we would care?” 

“No, I mean,” Emily sighed, looking into JJ’s deep blue eyes. “I’ve always been so private, you know? It’s just hard for me to talk about things like  _ this _ .” 

The moment between the two women was broken when Garcia let out a small giggle. Emily’s head shot upwards, looking towards her other friend. “What?” she asked, alarmed Garcia was about to announce something that would eternally embarrass Emily. 

“I mean, yeah,” Garcia drawled. “She’s good-looking.” 

A laugh bubbled up in Emily’s chest, accompanied by a wave of relief and joy. She hated when people made a big deal out of it. So what? She was into women. What’s the big deal? 

“But seriously, Em, you don’t have to be so secretive. If you had told me, I could have been pointing out girls instead of guys.” 

“Oh, yeah?” challenged Emily. “And what sort of experience do you have with women?” 

Garcia shrugged. “I don’t, but I can still tell when someone’s hot.”

“Hey, I’m gonna use the bathroom,” JJ announced suddenly, releasing Emily’s hand that she had still been clutching. “Can you get me another drink?” she asked Garcia. 

“Of course! You want one, Em?” 

“No, I’m good.” Emily watched as Garcia headed off towards the bar. She turned to look at JJ, who was still watching her. “What?”

“Come with me. I want to talk to you for a sec.” JJ must have seen the immediate fear that crossed Emily’s face because she smiled warmly. “It’s not bad, Em.” 

Emily nodded, trailing her best friend towards the back of the bar. The air cooled off immediately as they rounded the corner and the presence of people dissipated. JJ turned to lean against the wall, her feet slightly out in front of her. Emily looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to speak first. 

“Are you okay?” JJ finally asked. 

Emily furrowed her brow, confused as to why that was the biggest of JJ’s concerns at the moment. “What?” 

“Look, I know what you told us was probably a big deal for you, and I want to know if you’re okay. Like, you’re not going to drive yourself mad overthinking how we reacted or suddenly regret that we know. So, are you good?” 

“I mean, yeah, Jayje, I’m okay.” 

“Really?” asked JJ pointedly. She glanced down at Emily’s restless hands. “Your finger is bleeding.” 

Emily let out a small breath, drawing her pointer finger up, examining her destroyed nail bed, where blood had gathered in the corner. She sucked on it lightly, biting her nail again, and not making much of a point to hide her apparent nervousness. 

“No,” she finally admitted. “I’m not really sure how I feel right now.” 

“Do you want to talk about it at all?” 

Emily sighed. “Garcia’s waiting for us.” 

“Em, you can’t avoid me forever. I’m not making a big deal about what you told us, okay? I honestly don’t care about who you like, what I do care about is how  _ you  _ feel right now, because I can see you’re anxious. You’re pretty bad at hiding it.” 

“Jen-” 

JJ moved forward, wrapping her arms around Emily, who froze, not really knowing what to do in response to the unexpected interpersonal connection. JJ laid her head on Emily’s shoulder, speaking softly, “You’re my best friend, Emily, and I’m going to love you no matter what, so please,  _ please _ , stop worrying about tonight.” 

Emily nodded against JJ’s head. She was shocked JJ had read into her emotions so well, yet she was almost grateful, because without JJ’s reassurance, she was sure the minute she was alone, her head would start spinning. 

“You know you can always talk to me,” JJ continued. “I know this is one of the things you hate talking about. You hate talking about anything personal, but sometimes it’s good to get things off your chest. You need to trust people, Em.” 

Emily pulled back from the hug, looking into JJ’s eyes. “I do trust people. It just takes me a while.” 

“We’ve known each other for three years. It took you three years to say you liked women, Emily. How much else are you hiding in that head of yours?”

“Too much,” Emily mumbled quietly. “And I’m not talking about it tonight. Let’s just go back to Garcia, okay?” She smiled at her blonde friend, knowing deep down she  _ never  _ would tell anyone  _ anything _ unless they pressed her to say it. That’s why she was glad she had JJ and Garcia, because that’s exactly what they did every freaking night. And as annoying as it was, she’d eventually open up about one thing or another, some secret she’d kept for years would finally come spilling out. It was freeing to know someone was there to listen to every word she had to say, when she did finally decide to speak. 

It was almost the most difficult thing in the world to get Emily Prentiss to open up about her feelings. 

Almost. 


End file.
